IRDA ex-chief’s parting gift helps health insurers

WHAT'S UP

 Health insurers such as Max Bupa, Apollo Munich and Star Health & Allied Insurance are in a celebratory mood. A small change in distribution norms introduced by former IRDA chairman J Harinaryan just before his term ended in February has opened up the entire Indian market to these 'monoline' companies. Till recently, they were bunched up with non-life companies for regulatory purposes as there were no separate guidelines for health companies. Since laws allowed banks and individual agents to sell policies of only one life company and one non-life company, health companies had to compete with non-life giants for bank tie-ups. A recent revision in norms allows banks and agents to sell policies of one health company in addition to one life company and one non-life company. This allows health insurers to tap dozens of banks and millions of agents who are already tied to other insurers.
Rajan emerges as FM's key firefighter
    In a short span of time, Raghuram Rajan, the chief economic adviser to the finance ministry, has emerged as P Chidambaram's go-to man and the key firefighter. Be it the introduction of the development index that is seen as a precursor to giving a special status to Bihar, or the recent case of talking the rupee to stabilize when it was falling like nine pins. In the process, Rajan, himself an economist of repute and a professor at Chicago University, has eclipsed seasoned bureaucrats like finance secretary R S Gujral and revenue secretary Sumit Bose in terms of visibility.